Oil cooler size, location, and active or passive.

Just about to pull the trigger on getting an oil cooler but thought I'd get some input from the group first. Looks like the only place I have room for it will be in the engine compartment just in front of the rear tire on on the passenger side upper ledge.

This area so far in unaccounted for with the fuel pumps, filters and swirl pot on the other side.

Is this the area most use and do you actively cool it with a fan or leave it passive? Do you try to route some fresh air to it someway?

I was thinking about a 13" x 9" x 2" cooler with 10 AN connectors mounted with the longest side in parallel with the car and hooking up a small fan outboard to pull air into it.
 
Here's what I did with mine
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Darrin,
When I first built mine both the sills beside the engine were full with pumps and coil on plug paraphernalia. So I put it in the rear. To keep from being lopsided I wound up putting a trans cooler on the other side to keep things symmetrical. Used 13 x 8 with 10 ANS. Both are controlled with a thermostat. The oil filter adapter had it built in. I added puller fans on both and controlled the oil fan with a second thermostat mounted on the rear of the adapter. I also gave it a switch to work it in the event the thermostat for the fan failed. The trans thermostat controls both the pump and the fan. Don't think I really needed the cooler or fan for the trans but like I said it made things symmetrical.

Bill

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Thanks Bill. I was actually thinking about doing something like this too but didn't want the asymmetry either. Guess I could add a trans cooler like you did or live with it.

I think the location I originally came up with though (engine compartment passenger side) will work. I'll place the oil cooler (a 13" x 9" x 2" unit) on the top shelf and mount the oil filter from the top (the base of where the cooler is being mounted) of the bottom shelf area. On my car, there is a top shelf and a bottom and there is easily enough room to mount a good sized oil filter from the ceiling of it close enough to the end (where the tire is) so I can reach back and change the thing. I'll just run a short line from the oil cooler down to the filter, then from the filter back to the engine.
 
I don't know how tall your shelf is. On the DRB's there is a slant from the top of the sill near the engine down to the base. I did away with the slant and made it a shelf much like you describe(not at home or I could show you the pics of it, will tonight). I originally put my filter down there thinking I could reach it. I will tell you now you can't, or rather I couldn't. So I moved it up to beside the trans with a home made bracket. Look closely at the oil filter adapter. It has 4 ports on it. It has a built in thermostat that starts out with a little flow to the cooler and as it warms up it shunts more to the cooler. The 4 ports are 2 into and 2 out of the adapter. It allows you to mount the oil in from the engine, the other "in" port is used for the lo pressure safety switch, the out(s) go to the engine and to the cooler. On the line out to the cooler I have a second thermostat that operates the fan on the oil cooler. The lo Pressure safety switch is a 12V switch. This is wired in line to the inertia switch and then to the power side of the low pressure fuel pump switch. This power wire is then jumped to the high pressure fuel pump switch as well. This is a great safety feature. If my oil pressure drops to 20 lbs. the Accusump will pump 3 quarts of oil into the system. If the pressure does not come up and falls to 15, the power to the fuel pumps is cut by this switch, hopefully saving the engine. The inertia switch will just cut the juice to the pumps if a shunt occurs. The lo oil pressure safety switch has a bypass feature that is hooked to a momentary switch that allows you to start the fuel pumps so you can start the engine. You can start the engine without it but you have to spin it to get the oil pressure up above 15 lbs. and prime the lines with fuel. Could take a good minute or more of spinning to do that. Have to remember that the hi pressure fuel pump does not like to pump air and will eventually go out. I consider these two things as good anti theft devices. When I stop the engine, I hit the inertia switch(knocking all power to the pumps, and I have the bypass momentary switch hidden between the front door jam and the dash, so it is hidden when the door is closed. Unless the Inertia switch is reset the pumps will never start. It will be mounted between the driver's seat and the center console at the front of the seat, easily felt, but not seen. I can tell you it works great. At a car show I must have hit the inertia switch and not realizing it, couldn't get the fuel pumps to come on when I was ready to leave. Cost me a tow home to figure that out. So now I incorporate that into my shut down sequence, so I have to check the Inertia switch before start up. I will show you the pics after I get home. No access to pics at work.

Bill
 
Here are some of the pics.
Here is the ledge. The old sheet metal went from the upper edge to the lower edge along the line of the engine block. This was cut out and the right angle pieces were added. 7" high by 5" deep. If yours is close to this you won't have room to get your hand up there to do any work. Removing an oil filter on these setups is rather messy and you need the room to work. Original sloping panel.
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New shelf
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Looks roomy til you try to add something.
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Changing the fuel filter is a B...h without pulling the engine. Had the high pressure pump quit on me in traffic one day. Got it home and pulling that to get the piece of trash from the fuel line was no fun at all.As you can see from this pic there is no room to get your hands down beside the engine. there is a little room at the bottom but you just can't maneuver around.

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Here is the oil filter arrangement.
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Looking at the pic I realized I gave the wrong information. The adapter has 4 openings. two in and two out. The in is the oil from the engine and the line out to the oil pressure gauge and the lo pressure switch. The other side has the out from the filter to the thermostat. The last opening goes to the second thermostat that controls the fan for the oil cooler.
The thermostat is located below the filter adapter it has 4 ports as well. in from the filter and in from the cooler, out to the engine and out to the cooler. It operates the way I stated it. I also added a one way valve that is between the oil line from the cooler to the thermostat. This forces the oil exiting the thermostat toward the engine, and it keeps the oil(high pressure) in the Accusump going toward the engine when it detects low oil pressure.
Here is the bypass switch for the lo pressure oil switch. It is covered by the door jamb when closed. this switch has been swapped out for a momentary switch. The door would not close with this one on, and it doesn't press the switch when closed.

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Bill
 
Thanks again Bill. This is very helpful. I'll check again for sure before I mount the thing to make sure I can reach it without any problem. I know I can from above just fine but will check from below where I can see it instead of working by feel.
 
I was going to fit my cooler in the rear but opted to fit on the R/H side pod, the main reason was service access to around the transmission area.
If you have to pull a box or other work you have to pull the cooler.
I am a mechanic ,you need to make it as simple as you can to work on.

Jim
 
FWIW, just an another way of installing oil cooler on rear... The later Gulf cars were had oil cooler in this area.
 

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Jim,
I believe my setup follows your advice to the letter. I mounted the coolers(with rear mounted puller fans) up against the rear screens. Mounting was accomplished with light weight(1/2"x 1/8") tubular steel. The photos show all the space left over.The plastic mount straps on the coolers have been changed out to brackets and bolts.
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The DRB's are constructed with the rear assembly bolted to the cross member at the top and to the sub frame at the bottom. Unbolt the top and loosen the bottom and rotate the whole assembly out of the way. The engine hoist just slides up between them. When I had to pull the engine 4 times in one month and replace a broken starter ring gear each time(bad electronics) it was a simple matter.
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Bill
 
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